The small puff of smoke quickly dissipating in the air from the direction of where the Empress and her entourage had situated themselves confirmed my suspicions, and using magic to zoom in my vision further confirmed it. The guards all held muskets and they were lighting fuses on them while several others were reloading. "Matchlocks," I muttered before I called out the pistols I had taken from the Dazzlings. "Nobody get up! They have guns!"
The fuck was that?! Angel asked from beside me, eyes wide.
Gemini, who was beside me, looked over at the guards, eyes narrowed. "What are they holding?" she muttered.
"You've never seen those before?" I asked, turning to her.
She shook her head. "Never. Why, have you?"
"They look like matchlock muskets," I replied as the guards aimed. "Everyone, cover your ears!" I took aim at one of the guards and fired. I heard the howl of pain as the bullet made contact. It also startled the guards long enough for all of their matchlocks to go off moments after they jumped, causing their shots to go wild. I aimed again and shot at another guard. The bullet shot one of her ears off and she collapsed, holding her ear and howling.
"Fools! Charge them! They can't fire again!" I heard their queen shout in a shrill tone. "Kill them all except the human!"
Just as the guards grabbed some pikes, I aimed and fired again. This time, I saw a guard clutching at her stomach as she collapsed, dropping her pike. Seeing that nobody else had a matchlock and that those who were reloading hadn't finished, I fired again and again. I hit three more guards, dropping them like flies. I could hear Amber swearing from a hidden location. From a hidden pocket, I heard Angel cheering me on. KILL THE FUCKING DOGS!
Then I saw the crossbows. I swore and fired at the bowmen. That was how I got my first kill of the day. One of them fell back, her brains splattering out of her head as one of my bullets shot clean through. She fell forward, dropping the crossbow as she crashed to the ground. Amber bellowed at them. "SHOOT! SHOOT, DAMN YOU! SHOOT!"
They shot. The arrows came towards us, and I reached out my hand, trying to summon a shield of magic. A golden aura surrounded the front of us, and the arrows slowed considerably, but didn't stop. I swore under my breath. If I got out of this, I was going to demand that Shining Armor teach me defense magic!
A wall of flame shot down from the heavens as two dragons breathed their deadly fire onto the guards. I looked up and grinned. Silica and Scoria hadn't been idle either. I turned to Gemini, but she too was gone. She and Mica had gotten up and used the distraction from the dragon fire to charge towards us, their weapons out as they rushed at the now disorganized enemy.
I looked over at Scarlet, and the blood drained from my face. One of the bullets had hit her in the stomach and she was holding it, gritting her teeth in pain as she tried to stop the bleeding. She looked up at me, fear on her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. "It hurts," she said before coughing up blood.
"Shit!" I swore as I turned towards the guards, who were now in a melee with the Lycan guards. I could feel my anger rising. They had hurt my marefriend, a Pony I was eventually going to marry in the future. They hurt her. "They'll pay…" I snarled, teeth clenched in raw rage. I turned back to her, then I heard someone else coughing. I then looked over at where Miora was, and saw her lying slumped over. "SHIT!" I crawled over and looked at her. Her eyes were shut, teeth clenched in pain, and blood pouring from a clear arrow wound to the neck. "Miora!"
The Giraffe looked up at me, eyes narrowed, but a small smile on her face. "This…is nothing…" she gasped.
I hit the ground angrily. "Damn it! MICA!"
"Yes, Your Grace?" The Lycan he-wolf appeared out of nowhere.
"Get Miora and Scarlet out of here, now!" I pointed to the still forming door. "Get them to the hospital! Hurry!"
"What about you, Your Grace?" he asked as the fabric finally solidified into a door.
I turned to the Lycan enemies, my rage beginning to seep into every fabric of my being. "I have unfinished business with a certain bitch and her whore of a daughter," I said as I slowly stood, drawing Eclipse. I could vaguely feel the concern and worry from the two sisters as I did so, but I channeled magic through it, and it began glowing, one side the burning blaze of the sun and the other the silvery gleam of the moon. I turned back to Mica. "Go! Get them to safety!"
He looked at me briefly, fear etched onto his face, but then he nodded, saluted, and opened the door, helping the two injured members of my party into the room below. Knowing that they were safe for the moment, I turned and looked at the melee. While my now three guards were outnumbered, the Lycans were clearly outmatched. I saw on the horizon, however, that a larger number of Lycan guards were standing on a distant hill. I saw puffs of smoke erupt, then a large explosion of gunfire rocked across the plain. One of the Lycan guards went down, being hit by friendly fire. That was when I knew that Amber had to be insane.
I spread my wings, which burst into flames as I let my Phoenix powers flow through me. As my four guards dispatched the last of the guards, another explosion of fire rang from the line. Something bounced off of one of the Dragon's armor, hitting the ground. I ran up and picked up the object. It was a piece of smooth pointed metal, clearly a bullet. I turned to see that it was Silica who had been hit. She held her chest, gasping. "You okay?" I asked.
"Just…winded, Your Grace," she said.
"Snap out of it, and quickly," Scoria said, "because we're going to have company soon." She gestured to the Lycans who were now grabbing pikes along with crossbows. I also saw some larger weapons being pulled up.
"Arbalests," I snarled angrily.
"They're preparing to charge," Gemini growled, "and they're preparing for an incoming aerial assault."
"Is she insane?!" Scoria asked. "She knows how this will look!"
"We can discuss her mental faculties later," I said, "for now, we should probably-"
"You need to get out of here, Your Grace!" Silica interrupted me. "It's you they're after, not us!"
"She's right," Gemini said, turning and grabbing my collar before I could say or do anything else. "You need to get out of here! If you're killed, things may get ten times worse!"
I looked at the three who had been my personal guards for the past few days. I had gotten to like Silica and Scoria quite a lot, and had considered making them a part of the Honor Guard, my Honor Guard, upon our return to Virynth Atheos. And then there was Gemini. Her? Well, while our relationship was complicated, I didn't want to think of a life without her in it. She had taught me so much. I shook my head, turning to the army approaching us. "I can't just leave-"
Hey! Let me help!
I looked briefly down at the bunny who was still in my chest pocket. "You should get the hell out of here!" I shouted, pointing at the open door.
Use that spell you used on Fluttershy on me! Angel demanded. The one that made her stand on two hooves!
"The Anthro spell isn't for animals!" I replied as I downed yet another guard before trying to grab him.
Angel jumped away from me, glaring up at me. JUST DO IT!
I growled, and in the state I was in, I actually did it. I went prone, held my hand out, and cast the spell.
His transformation was…not what I expected. I thought that he would turn into some sort of pony. However, he instead grew to be about a head shorter than Spike. He became an Anthro white rabbit male with a light gray patch over his stomach. His tail was still puffy and he now had human-like hands. His feet were still those of a rabbit, however, and he looked pissed. His eyes, which were a deep grayish blue, flashed with anger. He turned to the Lycans, and actually spoke. "I'm gonna kill those fuckers!" His voice was that of a prepubescent boy.
Before I could stop him, he stood and launched himself into the air, his powerful hind legs now able to launch him extremely high. I watched as he arced over the approaching Lycans. When he landed among them, there was a flurry of activity as he began kicking at them. The screams of the enemy told me that whatever he was doing was working.
I grinned. The kid had guts, I'd give him that. I knew I'd get an earful from Fluttershy later, but I drew Eclipse. "I am the Dragon Emperor," I declared, "and I will not run away when any of my subjects are threatened! NEVER!"
The flames on my wings burst into green, and my flaming Alicorn wings were suddenly replaced with flaming Draconian ones. I felt heat rising up from inside me, my vision became much clearer, and colors became much more enhanced. I held up the sword in my hand and aimed it at them. "FOLLOW ME! FOR AELYSSIA AND NO QUARTER!" I bellowed, my voice sounding much deeper and more draconic.
The two Dragons roared with me and the two Lycans howled their own battle cry before we rushed them. I spread my new Dragon wings and shot into the air, rushing forward with my sword in both hands. Gemini was on all fours, charging like her feral counterpart. The Dragons were on either side of me, their own blades out and their mouths open. I could see them starting to charge up their fire breath. I opened my mouth, letting loose a mighty roar which surprised even me. The pikemen who were charging faltered at this, but quickly recovered and charged, howling their own war cry.
The Lycans launched their arbalest bolts, the arrows arcing through the air towards us. I held my sword up and paused, waiting for the metal bolts to reach me so I could use my sword to deflect. My sword moved like a blur, cutting through the metal bolts and sending them towards the ground. I shot lightning out of my fingers at them. This threw them further into disarray.
And then I landed in the middle of them, stabbing one of the guards through the heart. Her eyes widened in shock, then all life left them. I turned and raised my sword, cleaving the arm off of another Lycan she-wolf guard. She screamed and went down, holding her new stump as I cut my way towards where I saw Angel. I couldn't just leave him alone.
I spread my wings and leapt into the air, landing next to Angel. He had actually managed to grab a fallen dagger and was using his extreme agility to slash and stab at the clearly confused but still ferocious Lycan guards. "I see you found a weapon," I said with a grin as I stood back to back with the Anthro bunny.
"Having these hands of yours is fucking helpful," he said. His normally pure white fur was stained with blood, none of it his own. He turned to the Lycans. "Come and get it, bitches! I'd love to put you down like the dogs you are!"
The bloodlust in his eyes was concerning, but I set that aside. I had my own bloodlust. I raised my sword. "I'll take your surrender, now," I said with a snarl as a breath of fire escaped my mouth.
"There will be no surrender," one of them said, and they all agreed. "For the Empire, and no quarter!"
I didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. Instead, I raised my head and roared, the sound echoing through the once peaceful valley. I stared at them, gritting my teeth. "BRING IT!" I launched myself at the first Lycan soldier, bringing my blade down and slicing clean through it. The blade dug through her shoulder and she screamed, blood spurting out from the wound as I dug the blade out and punched her away before turning to the rest. "Who's next?!"
Sudden;y, a brilliant piercing light shone down from above. Something in my eye closed and I saw the charging Lycans falling down, holding their eyes and screaming loudly. I paused, confused. Looking down, I saw that Gemini and Angel were covering their eyes as well, but Silica and Scoria weren't. In fact, their own eyes were as black as night, and they were looking up behind us. I turned and saw something that nearly made me drop my sword.
Daybreaker flew above the valley, eyes blazing with a fiery red fury. Beside her, Nightmare Moon flew, icy blue eyes slotted with cold rage. Both were armored and bore swords, one of which was in flames and the other made of a bright ice which leaked a mist which fell to the ground like the mist that came off of dry ice. I looked down at Eclipse, noticing that its blade had gone darker as well. I could feel the utter rage and disgust the two of them now felt. "YOU DARE TO BRING HARM TO ONE OF OUR ALLIES!?" Daybreaker bellowed.
"THY ACTIONS SHALL NOT GO UNPUNISHED, VERMIN!" Nightmare Moon declared with finality.
The power rushing through Eclipse made me feel much stronger. I turned towards the Lycans, who were still clearly affected by the light. What made no sense to me was why? It wasn't like it was as bright as that. Right?
That was when I noticed my arm. Instead of skin, I saw scales. Silvery scales with gold around their edges. My hands had been turned into claws, and I suddenly noticed that my face had become much more…Dragon-like. I summoned a handheld mirror from my treasure's inventory and I saw a black eyed and silver scaled Dragon looking back at me.
The day started to dim as the two transformed Alicorns landed. The earth was singed where Daybreaker walked, leaving the grass dead and somewhat burnt, and the grass was frozen around where Nightmare Moon stepped. Then, as if a veil had been lifted from my eyes, light returned. I saw that Silica and Scoria also had their eyes return to normal. It had to be some sort of inner dark eyelid, I surmised, but I put that thought out of my mind as I saw the two approaching me. When they looked at me, both of them grinned and nodded, looking at me appreciatively. "As a Dragon, you look regal indeed," Daybreaker said with a lopsided grin.
"Indeed, sister," Nightmare Moon agreed, "he looks, shall we say, delicious?" She licked her lips.
"We can play later, sister dear," Daybreaker said, "Right now, we have some dogs to put down."
As the two turned away, they both bumped their flanks against me, and I could tell from the surge of emotion that it was a deliberate choice on their parts. I clenched my hand around the hilt of Eclipse. I could feel the torrent of emotions radiating off of it. The worry, the relief at seeing me okay, the anger and hatred at the Lycans, and the bloodlust. Not that I could blame them for their last few emotions. I was still plenty angry about them injuring the mare I loved. The sword's blade ignited in a mix of fire and ice and I moved to join the two transformed Alicorns, but I paused.
This isn't them, I thought to myself. This couldn't be them. They're letting their emotions get the better of them.
Oh, and you weren't about to, either? a voice in my head asked.
I looked at the blade, then concentrated on calming down. The ice and fire dissipated and the blackness that had surrounded it vanished. The two Alicorns paused, turning to look back at me, and I saw that their eyes had returned to their normal hues despite the rest of their body staying the same. I walked up to them, shaking my head. "Thank you Celestia, Luna, but they'll be punished in a way that's much better than simply killing them."
The worry on their faces was evident, and it was Daybreaker who spoke first. "They did harm to your marefriend and another of your traveling companions," she hissed, "and for that, they must suffer!"
"And they will," I assured them, "but to quote a cheesy movie, if you kill 'em, they won't learn nothin'." I grinned, a grin that might even make the Riddler or even the Joker jealous. The flames around my wings flashed a brilliant green once more, and the world around me made much more sense. My scales were gone, my face was back to normal, and I could now feel the intense heat and cold, but from where I stood, the combination of both just felt like a cool dawn or dusk. I walked between the two of them, making my way to where Amber and Amethyst were still on the ground nearby, hands over their eyes. I held my blade in one hand and one of the pistols, which I had pulled out for just this occasion, in the other.
Amber was the first to see me approach, the look on her face a mixture of fear and rage. The latter of which dissipated when she saw me raise my pistol towards not her, but her daughter who was still writhing nearby. To her credit, the older she-wolf crawled over and placed herself between the gun and her daughter. "I won't let you harm her," she snarled.
Before I could speak, however, Angel came up from behind Amethyst and grabbed her by the shoulder, putting the blade at her neck. His blue-gray eyes blazed with venom as he stared daggers at the Empress. "Bitch, give us a fucking excuse," her said darkly.
Amethyst looked back at Angel, terror passing over her face. She turned back to Amber. "Mother…help…" she sounded like a terrified child.
Amber turned to me, eyes pleading now. "Please don't harm my daughter," she said. "She's all I have."
"You should have thought about that long before you attacked us on sacred ground like that," I replied, my expression and tone dark, "and before you injured my marefriend and another companion of my party!" The flames on my wings flashed brightly as I did so, and I moved them forward, surrounding her.
The Lycan she-wolf began panting as the heat encompassed her. She backed up, eyes full of hatred. "Are you going to kill me, you fool? Kill me and my daughter and take over our Empire?"
I shook my head as I put my gun back in the necklace. At the same time, I lowered my blade but not my guard. "No, we won't kill you or your daughter," I said, my head racing with the adrenaline rush of the past few minutes, which to me still felt like a lot longer. I had switched to the royal We as I spoke to emphasize my point. "However, your actions against me have shown that you are a clear and present danger to not only us and our royal family, but just as importantly to our Empire. You thought that your matchlock muskets were enough to harm us, and in any other situation, you may have been right."
I reached out and picked up a discarded matchlock musket, brought it over my knee, and snapped the stock from the rest of it, then tossed it aside. "Unfortunately, humans have long since moved past such primitive firearms," I growled, reaching out and lifting her up with my magic, bringing her to my grasp. My hand went around her throat and tightened. "By all rights, your actions do merit the death penalty," I growled, and I could hear the small Dragon-like part of my voice returning. I held back a smile when I started smelling piss coming from her, but I ignored it and tossed her to the ground before leveling Eclipse at her. "I am offering you a choice. Surrender here, and I will be…generous…with my new terms."
She looked up at me, eyes full of loathing, but I pressed the blade against her neck, causing her eyes to widen. She raised her paws. "I…surrender…" It sounded as if it was painful for her to say, and at the moment I didn't care.
I nodded and removed the tip of Eclipse from her neck. "Good." I turned to Silica and Scoria, who had joined me on either side, their own weapons drawn, mouths smoking with rage. Without looking away from the two Dragons I pointed to Amethyst, who looked like she had just recovered her eyesight. "Seize her," I ordered, "but do no harm to her. Angel, come over here."
Amber's eyes widened as the two Dragon sisters obeyed my orders. "Wait, what are you-?!" She was cut off when my blade tip touched her throat again.
I watched as the two Dragons hoisted Amethyst to her feet. They weren't too gentle about it, and I found myself inwardly smirking in satisfaction at that, although I knew I'd have to scold them later. As Angel came to stand beside me again, I turned back to Amber. "This first term is non-negotiable," I said. "Your daughter will be our guest in our royal capital to ensure that no further foolishness occurs."
"A political prisoner…" Amber snarled.
"Call it what you will," I said, "but I promise that under our care she shall be well treated, fed well, and be given guards to ensure her safety. Perhaps, in time, she will be returned to you, but for the time being you have shown that we of the House of Bethridge and all citizens of the Aelyssian Empire cannot trust you. Is that understood?"
"At least let me send her personal chambermaid, and her personal guards," Amber pleaded.
"We believe that is a fair concession we can make," I said, "but she will also have Dragon guards to watch over them. She and the rest of her personal staff must earn our trust."
Amber seemed to deflate at this, and she nodded. "I understand," she said.
"You also attacked members of our kingdom without any provocation," a new voice said from beside me. I turned to see Celestia, now returned to normal, glaring down at Amber with a look that I hadn't seen on her before, pure, unadulterated rage. Seeing it on Daybreaker was one thing, but on Celestia? It was almost somehow worse. Seeing the normally Dumbledore like serenity on her face be broken into pure unadulterated rage reminded me that she was the Princess of the Sun for a reason.
"We will not be taking the attack on two of our citizens and on a Knight of the Realm lightly," Luna, who also had returned to normal save for the Nightmare slits of her eyes, said as she joined me on the other side, glaring down at Amber. "We will be demanding compensation for this atrocity."
Amber glowered at the two. "What else is Equestria going to take from us, huh?" she demanded, slowly getting to her feet despite my blade still at her throat. I pulled back a bit as she stood and looked at the two sisters angrily. "What else are you going to demand of us!? He-!" and here she pointed at me, "killed several of my soldiers!"
"In self-defense," Celestia said with a low growl, "and my sister and I have admitted our mistakes when it came to how we handled the enforced peace treaty between you and the Deerfolk. We are sorry about that."
"Sorry doesn't undo the anger!" Amber snapped. "Sorry doesn't undo the centuries of oppression-!"
"Look who's talking about oppression!" a familiar male voice shouted from behind us. I turned and saw Mica, eyes burning with anger and determination as he stepped forward, his own weapon clenched in his hands as he stormed up to the Empress. I held a hand up to stop him, and while he did stop, his words pierced the air with their fury. "You talk all the time about oppression, but the way you treat the he-wolves in our empire is the very definition of oppression! We are second rate citizens! We have no rights! All we're used for is manual labor and to carry on the oh-so-superior she-wolves line! Tell my Emperor what you did to your mate! TELL HIM!"
Amber's eyes were wide with shock at the sudden fury that came from the he-wolf. "N-Now listen here, young whelp-" she began, but he interrupted him.
"He was poisoned at a dinner celebrating Amethyst's birth!" Mica shouted. "She blamed a male servant and had him flayed in public for all to see!"
"Th-That's a lie!" Amber shouted in desperation. "That servant did poison my husband! I loved him!"
"Funny way of showing it on the day of his death, then," Gemini said, stepping beside her brother and glaring down at Amber. "It's a celebration."
"It's my daughter's birthday!" Amber screamed.
"And yet, no mourning of any kind or mention of him," Gemini argued in a surprisingly calm tone. "If you loved him, surely you'd mention him in your yearly speech. Other Emperors and Empresses have in the past."
Amber's teeth clenched and her fist tightened. "Males…they're useless," she snarled. "They go sniffing around other she-wolves and follow their own desires. They're nothing but pathetic excuses for Lycans!"
"The Guardian said that all are equal in the sight of heaven, correct?" Mica asked.
This caught my attention, and I turned to the young Lycan. "She did?" I asked.
"I believe her exact words were, 'All Lycans are created equal with certain unalienable rights.'"
"'That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,'" I concluded.
The Lycans all looked at me in shock. "How do you know that?" Gemini asked. "I never told you." She turned to Mica and gave him a questioning look. "Did you-?"
"Nope, not me," he said.
"Those words are a part of my old country's Declaration of Independence," I said, "and only a human from Earth would know them, or a human from my home country." I looked down at Amber. "We know there were humans on Narda before, and we know some of their names thanks to the shows that Eris mentioned. One of them became a guide for the Deerfolk, the other became one for you. If I'm right, then the one who helped you was the sister of the one who helped the Deerfolk. Your Guardian and their own protector were blood related."
Amber's face went pale at this. "No…I refuse to believe it," she stammered. "No, I won't believe it. It can't be true! NO!" She brought up her fists and struck the ground.
We watched her denial tantrum until she tired herself out. Angel crossed his arms, smirking down at her. He looked up at me. "What a bitch, huh?" he asked.
"Since Fluttershy's not here, I'm going to tell her that you used the proper use of that word and not the foul language you mean it to be," I said. "And I'll get you some V8 from Earth."
"The fuck is V8?" he asked.
"A blended vegetable drink," I explained as I reached down and patted him. It was then that I noticed that something else about him had changed when I hadn't been paying attention. He had hair. Straight and messy, a lot like anime protagonist hair.
"I'd rather settle for carrots," he said.
"I'll get those, too," I promised before looking back at the continuous meltdown of a certain Lycan she-wolf empress. A part of me, a very small part, felt sorry for her. The way she talked about he-wolves made it seem as if she had some personal reason for hating them. Maybe a he-wolf Lycan hurt her in some way or someone she knew. Still, it was a minuscule part, and one wrong didn't constitute another. I pulled out another fabric door, this one the one that led to Virynth Atheos, and slapped it onto a nearby tree. As it was forming, I turned to Gemini and Mica. "Take Princess Amethyst to Aelyssia and find her a room," I said. "Have two of the Imperial Guard keep watch over her until I get back."
Gemini and Mica saluted, then took custody of the Princess, who struggled and cried for her mom to save her even when she passed through the threshold of the door. I put the fabric door away, then turned back to Amber. "Everything we discussed earlier is off the table for the time being," I replied. "If you want to renegotiate, you will appear before our throne with no firearms, a minimum of guards, and truly peaceful intentions this time around. We may even let you see your daughter upon your visit. However, as of now, we will not tolerate your presence in our chambers. Do you understand us?"
Amber was helped to her feet by two of her now recovered Lycan guards. She had an angry but defeated look in her eyes. "Yes, I understand," she said.
"Good, and with that our business is concluded," I said. "You may send your daughter's handmaiden and two of her best guards to Virynth Atheos to attend to her needs, but that is all the concession we are willing to make for her. Oh!" I added, snapping my fingers as if I'd just remembered something. "You and your soldiers are to drop all of your weapons and leave them behind."
She bristled at this, but eventually nodded. "Understood," she repeated. She turned to the soldiers, who I now saw were all female. "Drop your weapons and gather our dead," she ordered before she was helped away, back to her horse.
As she left, I slowly sheathed my blade, watching her and the others of her impromptu army riding back. My knees felt like they would buckle, but I refused to let them. I wouldn't let her see me weak. When they were far enough away that I was sure they couldn't hear us, I turned to the brief battlefield. Dozens of matchlocks, swords, daggers, and even several pistols. I touched my necklace, and the weapons were gathered up into the abyss wherever they stayed. I kept one out, though, examining it briefly. "Smoothbore," I noted before I turned back to those who remained. I leaned against the musket as I was barely able to hold on.
Celestia and Luna noticed this because they came and pressed themselves against me on either side, keeping me up. "Are you injured?" Luna asked with worry.
"Nah, Princess," Angel said. "He kicked flank earlier!"
Celestia turned to Angel, eyebrows furled. "You helped our knight in his time of need, good sir," she said, "and for that you'll be rewarded."
"Sweet! More carrots," Angel said.
"What is your name, young one?" Luna asked.
"Angel Bunny at your service," he said, bowing in an exaggerated motion.
"Isn't that the name of Fluttershy's pet-?" Celestia's eyes widened and she turned to me. "You didn't…"
"Yell at me later," I said through my exhaustion.
Celestia sighed, then looked more closely at me. "Are you injured anywhere?" she repeated.
"Not that I know of," I admitted before I turned back to the door to Ponyville. "Scarlet!" I spread my wings and flew towards the door. If she dies, so help me God, someone is seriously going to pay…